The Campaign For DA

7.14.2017

Back in November, Lt. Gov's Dan Patrick's son was defeated in an election in Harris County and thrown out as a district judge. Yesterday, Trump appointed him as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. Patrick is Trump's Texas campaign manager. I knew something like this would happen as I wrote in November of last year but I just didn't think big enough:

There were a bunch of stories of a worker being "stuck" behind a Bank of America ATM and sliding notes out of it to customers in order to be saved. Anyone else skeptical? Every story sure does prominently display the Bank of America name. Publicity stunt?

Crazy story out of Pennsylvania: Four young guys go missing this week. They are eventually found dead with the help of the murderer after prosecutors cut a deal with the him to take the death penalty "off the table." (Regarding the accused: "[P]rosecutors said he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He also suffered a head injury in an ATV accident a year ago.")

It was a great moment seeing President Clinton and President Bush together in Dallas yesterday. I miss them both. And this was a great moment as Bush poked fun at himself:

And the meeting gave rise to a fantastic picture:

Both Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick are proposing mandatory salary increases and bonuses for teachers. This makes teachers love them. This makes administrators and school boards cringe because, by and large, the local districts have to come up with the money. Patrick's explanation yesterday: Districts "have to be better about how they spend the money. They have to put more focus on teachers." (Related note: The Update reports Boyd ISD might be facing a deficit.)

New New Yorker cover:

I'm don't know if it will happen, but there's a sentencing this morning in the Wise County District Court for a woman who allegedly stole over $200,000 from one of Karl Klement's businesses. If I'm reading the docket notes correctly, she pled guilty earlier this year, waived a jury, and chose to go to the judge for sentencing. At the time, the judge was John Fostel who has since passed away. Now she'll face a visiting judge. The uncertainty would make me very nervous.

NBC News with a scoop this morning. Probably not a bombshell but just proof there will be more and more coming. There was someone else at the Trump Jr. meeting:

That inflatable marijuana thingy is funny:

The Houston Chroniclehas now picked up the Bridgeport cop-almost-hit-by-alleged-drunk-driver story, and refers to his "fancy foot work" as saving his life.

How many times did every Republican Representative and Senator vote to completely repeal Obamacare when they knew the vote didn't matter because Obama would veto any bill trying to do so? And how many of them made a campaign promise of "I will vote to repeal Obamacare!"

"Patrick's explanation yesterday: Districts "have to be better about how they spend the money. They have to put more focus on teachers." (Related note: The Update reports Boyd ISD might be facing a deficit.)"

The Special Session is considering a bill that would limit how much money a local school district can raise through property taxes.

Abbott and Patrick are big on local control when it comes to Washington, but when it comes to Texas, everything needs to be approved out of Austin.

A shortage of legal marijuana at the state incensed stores in Nevada? Say it ain't so. Next thing you will tell me is that all the hookers are on strike and the hotel slots are down for 200,000 cycle tuneup & maintenance.

Patrick had some prior Texas GOP leaders to show him the way in setting up family in state/federal jobs or benefits. Remember Tom Craddick doing a back room deal to get his daughter Christi (now a Texas Railroad Commissioner - thanks dad) state benefits while she was a registered lobbyist at the time? And Tom DeLay/Jack Abramoff/Ed Buckham funneled money to spouse Christine Delay for "consulting", though no actual consulting was shown when the Feds investigated.

As of late June, which are the most recent polls I could find, about 17% of Americans support the Senate healthcare bill which is actually smaller than the percentage of Americans who believe they've seen a ghost.

10:49, you are absolutely right. I agree 100%. Obama and Lynch walked on egg shells and they shouldn't have. They didn't want to look arbitrary, so they bent over backwards to not cause waves. They should have instead:

1. Slammed the door HARD on all Trump's foreign visitors when there was a hint of hanky panky.2. They should have called out Team Trump as out and out seditionists as the evidence and their statements piled up. Look up the definition.3. When the intelligence agencies started getting chatter on Trump being in the Russkie pocket, they should have called in the campaign staff of the Orange One for a grilling and depositions.4. Convened a federal grand jury and refer all charges, even if Election Day was only a few months away.

They played soft thinking that Trump's team had some ethics. Boy, were they wrong.

Teachers do not love Dan Patrick & Abbott, they see thru the political grandstanding they are pulling. Local districts have had their hands tied for over a decade by the cap the n local tax increases. As in the national election, many teachers hold their nose and vote for the republicans based on the abolition issue alone, even if it's against their best economic self issue.

In 1950 the cost per pupil to provide K-12 education in this country was $2,300 in today's dollars. 30 years later, in 1980, the average pupil cost was $6,700 in today's dollar. Today, it's about $14,000. These are dollars already adjusted for inflation. Six times more to teach a kid in public school today. Why? It seems that the outcomes were a whole lot better when it was 1/6th the cost, also.

I think I can solve this mystery for you.The cost of these has increased:Salaries for everyone working at the schools.Building the structures.Maintaining the buildings, grounds, and vehicles.Utilities and equipment.

The cost of everything has gone up since 1950. Why should it come as a surprise that education did, too?